Bank protection apparatus



June 27', 1933.

R. HELMS BANK PROTECTION APPARATUS Filed OGb'. 17, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l a@ wm,

15M- ATTORNEYS.

June 27, 1933. R. HELMS 1,915,735

BANK PROTECTIQN APPARATUS Filed Oct. 17, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /ylV/J CITI/m' 591: j

IN VEN TOR.

Bym$ m M A TTORNEYS.

Patented June 247,v 193g PATENT ,OFFICE ROSS HELMS, F LOGAN SPORT, INDIANA I BANK 'PROTECTION APPARATUS Application led October 17, 1930, Serial No. 489,470. v v

The object of the invention is to provide va bank protection apparatus in the formof an enclosure to be placed as an entrance Way or vestibule to a safe or vault and having op- ,5 positely dispos-ed doors operatively connect'- ed for interdependent movement, so that one must be in a certain position before the other may be operated and vice versa; to provide a structure of the kind indicated in Which ,10 the door ne'Xt adjacent the vault is independently locked requiring a knoivn` method to effect its release but being permanently locked in the event of deviation from this method; to

lprovide a closure fof tlie kind indicated in ,1.5 which thebottom or floor constitutes va mov- I able platform `operatively 'connected vvith both doors for bolting the latter in the event of the imposition onthe platform of more Ithan a predetermined Weight; 'and to pro- ,.20 vide yprotection apparatus Which is generally of simpl-e form, siisceptibleof cheap manufacture and possible Yof installation Without difficulty. v With this object in vieyv, the invention con- ,.lsists' in a construction aiideombinatioii ef Vparts of v'vhich a preferred embodiment is iliiistrated "ii the accompanying drawings,

Whereini Figure 1 is a centralv'ertical sectional view .oi'of a'closure constructed in accordance with the inventionand looking at the back door,

constituting the entrance door to the safe or vault.

. Figures 2, 4 arel sectional vievvs on F35 the planes indicated by the lines2;2, 3;*3

" and 4-4 respectively of Figure '1,v

' yFigure V 5 is an enlarged detail sectional vView showing the platform actuated boltin fboltingpositionl K im Figure `6 is an enlarged detail sectional 'Viewv 'illustrating the 'kind of operative conn ectlion that is provided for interconnecting meneurs.

The invention comprises a hollovv'walled ,'closure 10 for placement as a vestibule or entrance vvay to a bank vault, the rear vv'all I' of said closure being formed by the front Wall 11 lof 'the vault, if the door V12 is to serve as Y the vault door proper, as it wellmay most 50 instances. Entranceto the vestibuleor closure 10 is had through an opening in the front Wall of the closure Which is closed by a door 14. Both the doors 12 and 14 are mounted on hinges for swinging movement to their open and lclosed positions but are operatively connected, so that with vboth closed, if the" door 14 be opened, the door 12 Will be bolted and vice versa. y

The operative connections compris-e slide rods 15 disposed Within the hollow space of .60

the Walls of the closureilO on opposite sides, these being mounted in guide brackets 16 to provide for their longitudinal or axial movement. Each slide rod is designed to driveits attendant bolt 17, these bolts being positioned @f in the back and front Walls respectively of the closure for engagement with sockets in the free edges of the doors 12 and 14 when the latter are closed. yThe bolts are normally spring retracted as indicated at 18, so that lo When not forced forward by the slide rods y they Will be disengaged from the doors vand the latter Will be free for opening'and closing, so far as these particular bolts are concerned. Since the axes of the bolts 17 'l5' are at right angles `to the axes of the slidev rods 15, the driving of the former is effected by means of cams 19 carried at the extremities of the latter and provided with inclined faces against which the rear ends of the bolts 17 bear. The boltl? for one door is actuated by the other door to 'effect the bolting operation and to this end the 'extremity of the slide rod 15 remote from the ca-m'19`has a pin and slot 85 connection 20 With one arm o-f a bell crank lever 21 Whose other arm is connected With the attendant door' by means of a link 22. f By this construction, When the doors 12 and 14 are closed, the bell crank levers 21 are rocked 90 by the links 22, s-o as to retract the slide rods 15 andl bring the loW points of the cams behind the. bolts`17, so that the springs 18 retract the latter and neither door is engaged with its bolt. Ifeither door be opened, hoW- ever, its movement efects'the bolting of the other door.4 For example, if the door 14 be opened, as' indicated in vFigure 6, the bell crank lever 21 is rocked by its connecting link 22m direction to eect such `movement of 0 the slide rod 15 as will bring the high point of the cam 19 behind the bolt 17 and the latter will be forced into its socket in the door 12 `against the pressure of the spring 18. In the same way, the bolt 17 of the door 14 is affected by opening the door 12. `When the one door is open, therefore, the other is bolted since the closure of one is necessary to effect release of the other.

The bottom or floor of the enclosure 10 is in the form of a movable platform 23 supported on the force. arms of the levers 24 which are operatively connected with pin and slot connections 25 to insure their synchronous movement. The resistance arms of the levers 24 carry the weights 26 which may be adjusted along said resistance arms to determine the weight necessary to effect depression Aof the platform 23. Both the doors 12 and 2O 14 may be bolted by the depression of the platform 23 and to this end it is connected with the vertical slide bars 27 mounted in guides 28 within the front and back Walls of the enclosure, these slide bars 27 carrying pivotally mounted bolts 29 which, when the platform is depress-ed, are carried into the sockets or recesses 30 in the free edges of the doors.

Normally, the weights 26 are so adjusted that they hold the platform 23 elevated together with the weight of one person with the approximate amount that he will carry into or from the vault, so that the bolts 29 are not operated unless the weight on the platform exceeds this predetermined amount.

In addition to the bolts 29 and 17, the door 12 is provided with two additional bolts, the one, bolt 31 being spring actuated, as at 32 for movement int-o a socket 33 when released. rfhis b olt 31 is slidably mounted in guides 34 within the door 12 and is held in retracted position by a hooked member 35 which engages a notch 36 in the bolt. The hooked member 35 is mounted on the back face of a pressure plate 37 which is disposed within the door 12 where it is slidably mounted for backward movement on guides 38. The plate 37 is spring impelled, as at 39 towards the front wall of the door 12 which, in the region of the plate is provided with uniformly spaced perforations 40through which a plug l, may be inserted. The bolt 31 is designed to be maintained normally retracted but the remaining bolt 41 in the door 12 is normally extended into bolting position, its ends engaging the socket 42. The bolt 41 is also disposed within the door 12, being slidably mounted in guides 43 and springimpelled, as

at 44 into bolting position. The bolt 42 is designed for retraction by a plug which, however, must be inserted through the perforation 40EL where it may engage a disk 45 which is carried on one arm of a bell crank connection 47 with the rear end of the bolt 41.

of the other perforations 40, the plate 37 will be forced back ,and the hook member 35 disengaged from the notch 36, when the bolt 31 will be released and enter its socket 33 thereby permanently bolting the door 12, until the bolt 31 shall have been released by the actuation of an ejecting plunger 48 which is disposed directly behind the socket 33 and is actuable by means of a lever 49. The ejecting plungerI 48 and its lever are enclosed in the wall surface adjacent the door 12 and access to these may be had through a separately locked small door, not shown. 1n the event of the release of the bolt 31, 'entrance -A to the vault may not behad until after release of the bolt by some one authorized to have vaccess to the ejectingplunger 48.

The weightsV 26 having been adjusted to port the predetermined weight, for example Va certain clerk or clerks with the amounts that they would ordinarily carry to and lfrom the vault, the bolts 29 are retained'in retracted positions and both'the doors 12 and 14 are free to move without interference from them. The bolt 3l is normally retracted, however, but the door 12 is normally bolted4 by reason of the engagement of the maintain the platform 23 elevated to sup-i bolt 41 with its socket 42. When both ther-y doors 12 and 14 are closed, the lbolts 17 are retracted and either door may then be opened without interference from these bolts. To

. enter the vault, however, the door 14 is rst opened which brings the bolts 17 of the door 12 into engagement with the latter, so that so long as the door 14 remains open, the door 12 may not be opened, even though the bolt 41 be retracted. To open the door l2, therefore, requires closing of the door 14 whichm effects release of the bolt 17 from the door`v 12. Then the door v12 may be opened b releasing the bolt 41 by the insertion o the plug in the perforation 40a. But the opening of the door 12 drives the bolt 17 of the:`

doo-r 14 and the latter may then not -be opened until after the door 12 is closed.

Assuming that a clerk or employee should be caught in the enclosure by a bandit or form 23 would depress the platform and effect operation of the bolts 29 which, if both the doors 12 and 14 be closed would bolt the latter and entrap the occupants.

v The invention having been described, what is claimed as new and useful is:

robber, his additional weight on the plat-rf4 1. n a bank protection apparatus, an enclosure, a door in one Wall of the enclosure,

leading to an area to be protected, a normaln ly set locking means for such door, a manually operable element accessible through one of a plurality of openings in such *door for releasing said locking means, and a second locking means for such door, said second locking means responding through an attempt to operate the first` locking means through other than the predetermined opening.

2. 1n a bank protection apparatus, an enclosure, a door in one Wall of the enclosure, leading to an area to be protected, a normally set locking means for such door, a manually operable element accessible through one of a plurality of openings in such door for releasing said locking means, a second locking means for such door normally inluenced to locking position, and means for holding such second locking means against locking operation and releasing the second locking means for locking operation through actuation of said means, said means being operated through any of said openings in said door other than the opening predetermined for the operation ofY the first locking means, whereby in an attempt to operate the first locking means through other than the predetermined opening the second lockingy means is released for locking the door.l

3. In a bank protection apparatus, an enclosure having a door leading to an area to be protected, a normally operative locking means for said door, an element by which said locking means may be released, the door being formed with a plurality of similar openings, through a predetermined one of Which said means is accessible, a second locking means for said door normally influenced toward locking position, means arranged Within thevdoor for holding said second locking means against locking movement, and an element operable through any of the openings other than the predetermined opening for the operation of the first mentioned locking means `for releasing said second locking means for operative locking movement With respect to the door.

In testimony whereof I aiiiX my signature.

ROSS HELMS. 

